13 Life-Changing (or not) Flowcharts

Flowcharts can be good for any kind of decision-making process, like figuring out where your life went wrong and whether you are even qualified to use a flowchart. If you are, then enjoy this latest round of creative charts from all over.

1. Are You Good at Following Flowcharts?

Flowcharts are supposed to help you in making step-by-step decisions. Now here's a flowchart to help determine whether you know what you're doing when you read a flowchart. If you're not, it won't help you at all. If you think it will help, see the rest of the chart at College Humor.

2. The Internet Flowchart

Doghouse Diaries has a flowchart that explains why you are reading mental_floss right now -to see if there is anything new on your favorite website! This is so true for me... I can't even use the excuse of having to work, because this is my work!

3. Do You Understand The Higgs Boson?

Now, there's a loaded question! The odds are that you don't, because most people, even highly intelligent people like those who read mental_floss, don't understand subatomic particles that haven't yet been found. But this flowchart from Fake Science might help you decide whether it may be worth bluffing your way through …you know, on the off chance you run into someone who does understand the Higgs Boson.

4. What Particle Are You?

Maybe if you're not into the Higgs Boson track, you could be another subatomic particle. It all depends on which side of The Force you are on, whether you are a strange, glueball, charm, top, bottom, or maybe even something less pun-worthy named for a scientist. Sean Carroll at Cosmic Variance constructed this flowchart to determine which of those tiny things you have the most in common with. It's much bigger than the sample shown here.

5. Are You Actually Going to Study for Finals?

Better study up on those subatomic particles; they may be on the test. But will you really get around to studying for your finals? The road to flunking a class is paved with good intentions -as this flowchart makes clear. This is only a portion of the full flowchart at College Humor. The illustrator, Nathan Yaffe, obviously spent his time on this flowchart to put off studying.

6. AMC Programming

If you're not going to study, there's always TV. This simple flowchart will let you know what's on AMC, except for those months when The Walking Dead can be substituted with Mad Men or Breaking Bad. The network seems to have Sunday nights down, but the rest of the week is another story. Of course, the other cable networks have their favorite films as well, as redditors are happy to point out.

7. The Ultimate Guide To Talking To Any Human

How do I get hold of you? Email? Text? Phone? Chat? Honestly, picking up the nearest device may be simpler than working your way through this flowchart from Katie Heaney and Chris Ritter at Buzzfeed, but the chart may help you clarify your intentions and maybe even reconsider whether you want to communicate at all.

8. Should I Check My Email?

Yes, it's true, some people don't need your communication right now. In fact, it's a big distraction when you're trying to get something done, whether it's work or studying for finals. This flowchart by artist Wendy McNaughton will help you convince yourself you can stay away from that inbox for as long as you really need to. It accompanies a Forbes article on how to ignore email. See the full-size version for readability.

9. Rock Star Dating

Some people have an easier time connecting with the opposite sex than others. This flowchart from Graphic Content explains.

10. How to Argue with a Climate-Change Denier

This flowchart was only published yesterday, from Slate in collaboration with Climate Desk. It gives you four good arguments to use, but to be honest, a good argument doesn't always win a debate. The flowchart is large, so you should go to Slate to see the whole thing in a readable size.

11. A Flowchart for Cats

Cats have small brains that are stuffed full of cat logic. This flowchart perfectly explains cat logic in human terms.

12. Should I lock this door or not?

Everyday life is full of compromises. Redditor jakizely got into trouble locking the door so many times that his wife Amanda constructed this flowchart to help him. You can read it all at Imgur, but be warned that it has NSFW text. She was upset.

13. How I Make Comics

Toronto artist AK Tettenborn of the webcomic Twice Shy made a flowchart to explain the process of making comics. This is strangely close to the process I use to write lists for mental_floss.

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Also on Mental Floss:

DID YOU KNOW? Marlon Brando hated memorizing lines so much that he posted cue cards everywhere to help him get through scenes.
He even asked for lines to be written on an actress's posterior. (That request was denied.)